A Second Chance
by clarinet-alto-4ever
Summary: VILLAINS ARC SPOILERS! With Sylar/Gabriel and Elle free of their powers and trying to redeem themselves in purgatory, can they rekindle the love they shared during the short eclipse? Or was there never love at all, merely lust? A mild T rating for now.


SPOILERS! This fic goes all the way through the end of the "Villians" arc!

A/N: I am obsessed with Heroes, but I never really considered writing fanfiction to it before. And then the Sylar/Elle ship began and I am now doubly obsessed. This story will be under the assumption that both Elle and Sylar are actually dead, but as all of us Heroes fans know, nobody is ever really truly dead, lol (except for Adam Monroe. I think he's pretty dead. And I honestly think Elle is dead too. Sylar can still make an infamous comeback). This prologue is practically word for word from the ending of Eclipse Part II, but don't worry; this is just an introduction to get inside Elle's while her lover kills her. Everything else from here on out will not be part of an episode. The rest of the story, with the exception of flashbacks,s will take place after the end of the Villains arc.

Disclaimer: I don't own Heroes (I'd kinda like to own Zachary Quinto . . .). And thus, I don't own any of the dialogue in this prologue. Haha, that rhymed.

I opened my eyes to find myself on a beach. The waves crashed upon the shore in the evening light. I blinked as I tried to register what had just happened. There was Gabriel.

"What was that?" I asked. I tried to limp towards him. Ouch, my leg was still in a lot of pain.

"Hiro Nakamura," he said as if that was a complete answer. I didn't know who Hiro Nakamura was, but he obviously had some kind of space transport power.

"Strange day," I commented. I tried hobbling closer to Gabriel. He crossed the distance much quicker and was by my side. His face was contorted in confusion.

"Was Bennet lying about my parents?" he asked quickly.

If I knew Bennet, that was an obvious answer. "Of course he was. He's Bennet." It seemed so obvious to me.

Gabriel didn't seem convinced. "He seemed to think he knew something about it."

"He's just trying to mess . . . with you," I told him with certainty. My leg was still in a considerable amount of pain.

A flash of concern crossed Gabriel's face. "Sit down," he said softly. We both crumpled to the ground.

I felt Gabriel's hand against my face. I wasn't expecting it I was so consumed with the pain and I gasped. He backed away momentarily but soon reached back for my. His fingers became entangled in my hair and he bent down to kiss me, slowly at first, then more aggressively. Something seemed different about this kiss though. Something I couldn't place. He leaned forward and we laid down with him on top of me. He continued to kiss me and run his fingers through my hair. I thought this was bliss. I wouldn't mind just staying on this beach with him forever, never again worrying about the rest of what was out there.

Gabriel pulled away after a long, sensuous kiss. He caught his breath and then said softly, "I've been thinking." He let the ending drift inconclusively.

"About what?" I prompted. Was he still thinking about Bennet and his parents?

"What you said about finding ourselves free of parents and powers." His voice was still soft and almost hesitant.

"What about it?" I initiated again. What was he getting at? I tried to recall the conversation he was referring to. Nothing really came to mind. What was he being so hesitant about?

Almost so soft I couldn't hear it, but clear as a bell, he said, "You were wrong. Nobody ever really changes."

I gasped. Surely I had misunderstood him. He couldn't mean that. "You did. I saw you." I saw the change in him. Even before the eclipse had stolen our powers, he was beginning to change. He was different. He had an understanding of his power and he knew he could control it. He was able to use my power without killing me because we understood each other. Killing was not a necessity in his life.

There was sudden shift in his face. It only took me a second to realize what had happened. He was Gabriel no longer. Sylar was back and his hunger was as strong as ever. It didn't matter that he already had control of my power. He was going to find out _how_ my power worked the way he always had. "That was temporary and then I got my powers back and I understand now. I'm never gonna change. Neither are you because we're both just damaged goods," he said, his voice as cold as a winter's night. Sylar grinned at me. The fear settled into my stomach. A small gasp escaped my lips.

"You're hurting me," I said softly. What else could I say? _Please don't kill me!_ Those pleas would fall on merciless ears. Begging did not work with serial killers such as Sylar.

"I know," he said maliciously.

It was then that I realized I was going to die. My face portrayed this conclusion. Sylar's eyes held nothing but evil as his hand slowly raised up and his finger extended to begin cutting my forehead open. This was not how I had imagined I was going to die. I had always wanted to die an old woman warm in her bed, but here I was being killed by a man I had fallen in love with such a short time ago. Was this to be my fate?

I felt the first prick and blood began to trickle down my cheek. I whimpered softly, resigned to my death. How could I ever have fooled myself into thinking that this man loved me? Maybe during that short eclipse we had experience love. Perhaps lust and not love, but the opportunity for love to blossom was there, was it not? And now I was seconds away from death by the hands of my lover. Love really did not exist in this world. I had my doubts that it existed in the next. But then I had my doubts that there was an afterlife at all.

The blood intermingled with tears ran down my face. Were the tears from my physical pain? _No_ I thought. I could have survived any physical wound, but this knife to my heart was the real killer.

I closed my eyes and died.


End file.
